Sacramento groups denounce anti-semitic remarks made at City Council meetings

Representatives from a variety of faith and advocacy organizations on Tuesday denounced anti-semitic comments made at recent Sacramento City Council meetings. 

Speakers rejected the hateful rhetoric and conspiracy theories shared in public meetings, calling for unity in supporting Sacramento’s Jewish communities. 

The Jewish Federation of the Sacramento Region and the Jewish Community Relations Council organized the press conference. Barry Broad, president of the former, said the way a man has repeated anti-semitic tropes at the city podium is deliberate. 

“It is meant to normalize hatred, to give the impression that the speech is like any other,” Broad said. “That the speaker may be one of our neighbors, that there is nothing frightening about the messenger, so how dangerous can the message really be? To get us used to hearing it, so that the next time, and the time after, we are dulled by the message and no longer shocked by it.” 

A man has shared anti-semitic public comments, including banking conspiracy theories,  at various points in meetings since April 18. When he walked up to speak last week, protestors tried to block him, holding up signs saying “never again” and “your hate is not welcome here.” The city cleared the council chambers and limited the meeting to remote public comments. 

Betty Williams, president of the Sacramento NAACP, said an attack on any group hurts all of the city’s diverse communities. She added people should be able to give public comments at City Hall without spreading hate. 

“The fact that we allow that type of language and that type of hate in this community should never be tolerated,” Williams said. 

Other speakers represented organizations including the Sacramento LGBT Center, the Sacramento Central Labor Council, Asian Resources, Inc., PICO California, Midtown Church and Sacramento Area Congregations Together. 

Rabbi Mona Alfi of Congregation B'nai Israel said the Jewish community is grateful for their support and stands with them against other forms of discrimination. 

“It does not matter which group is being singled out on any given day,” Alfi said. “We must all stand together. And I am confident that here in Sacramento, we will continue to come together again and again, and again, and as many times as needed to stand united against all forms of hatred and bigotry, so that it cannot destroy the fabric of our democracy.”

Jason Weiner, chair of the Jewish Communities Relations Council, said the purpose of the press conference wasn’t to debate the appropriateness of allowing anti-semitic comments. The council is in touch with Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Weiner said, and may want to talk with him about the city’s meeting conduct rules later. 

The First Amendment protects hate speech, but the Brown Act allows the council to make sure meetings are orderly, Steinberg’s spokesperson Andrew Kehoe said in an email. A state attorney general’s Brown Act guide says law-making bodies can remove disruptive people and completely clear meeting rooms.

Future council meeting disruptions will be handled on a case-by-case basis, he added. The mayor’s office has primarily consulted the city attorney’s office on the issue, but is taking feedback from residents and organizations, too. 

“The mayor is committed to making sure people feel safe when they are in chambers and getting the business of the city done,” Kehoe said in the email. 

Sacramento isn’t alone in dealing with a rise of anti-semitism or extremists speaking at public meetings. The Anti-Defamation League released a report earlier this month showing California has seen the number of anti-semitic incidents increase 41% from 2021 to 2022, climbing from 367 to 518. In March, the Roseville Joint Unified High School District ended a board meeting early during comments made by a Proud Boy. 

The Anti-Defamation League recommends elected officials call out hate speech expressed at public meetings before it escalates, said Teresa Drenick, Interim Regional Director of the organization’s Central Pacific Region. Local government boards should also reiterate their values, Drenick said, and get legal advice on how to respond to certain situations.  

Before meetings, Drenick also recommends government boards talk with law enforcement to ensure physical safety plans are in place. City Councils can also review and consider changing their rules on meeting decorum, Drenick added. After hateful comments, she said government boards can provide opportunities for the public to process feelings, such as at meetings or events. 

“Consider ways that one can provide important information that will make the community feel heard, knowledgeable and informed without overly publicly highlighting the hate group or the hate speech,” Drenick said. “And continue educating the community about the issues that arose. Don't try to bury them.”